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Episode 995: Manny Machado's Midriff
Date December 22, 2016 Summary Ben and Sam banter about Ivan Nova, early Hall of Fame voting, and a potential fat player, then answer listener emails about Mark Melancon and strikeouts, splitting the Rookie of the Year award, a renegade league, two-way players, CBA loopholes, changing the schedule, and the best possible highlights. Topics * Contracts for pitchers with low strikeout rates * Measuring team payroll * Splitting the Rookie of the Year award * Changes to schedule format * Two-way players in the Hall of Fame * Player-owned league hypothetical * Most memorable highlights Intro The Cranberries, "Ridiculous Thoughts" Outro Kanye West, "Highlights" Banter * Sam's contract predictions have been relatively close so far except for his expectation that Ivan Nova would make more than twice what he signed for. * Hall of Fame ballots are starting to be published. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are on 71% of the ballots submitted thus far to the Hall of Fame ballot tracker. * Sam references a discussion he and Ben had in Episode 29 about whether the Astros would sign Roger Clemens. If Clemens had pitched that season for the Astros it would have potentially helped his Hall of Fame chances by delaying when he appeared on the ballot. * A listener submitted a potential fat player photo of Manny Machado. Email Questions * Jack: "Melancon got fewer years and a lower average annual value despite having the most innings pitched and the lowest ERA. if two pitchers had the same ERA and IP, but one had half the strikeout rate, how many years would they have to put up identical numbers to receive equal contracts? Are low strikeout pitchers potentially undervalued in today's high strikeout game?" * Henry: "Is there a particular date on which a team's payroll is measured for the competitive balance tax? Can teams game the system by shifting players around at just the right time?" * Brett: "Would it make sense to split up the Rookie of the Year vote the way the Cy Young and MVP vote are split up?" * Jared (Wichita, KS): "Would you be in favor of six game series instead of three game series as it stands now?" * Jonathan: "What if instead of a labor strike things got so bad that the MLBPA formed its own separate competitive league?" * Lillian: "Say you are a middling prospect in spring training and are approached by Baseball God. You will have a completely average career and earn a nice sum of money, but after you retire in 15 years nobody will really remember you for any particular skill you had and nothing will jump off your Baseball Reference page. But, Baseball God says three video highlights of something you did on the field will find their way into baseball lore and be replayed forever. So what three highlights would you most want to be remembered by?" Play Index * Inspired by the absurdity of Babe Ruth's pitching stats, Sam uses the Play Index to look at the best pitching careers by position players. * George Sisler pitched 24 times (111 innings) in his career with a 2.27 ERA Notes * Ben asked a front office member who said that the competitive balance tax is assessed at the end of the season based on all of the salaries paid out to players by a team that year. * Sam thinks that if series were lengthened to six games fans would be less likely to come for marquee opponents. * Ben would want one of his highlights to be in a baseball context but not a baseball play (such as Rick Monday saving the flag or taking out a dangerous fan). Sam would want to be involved in a really fun and creative trick play. He also suggests planting off the outfield wall, grabbing onto the foul pole, and then catching a would-be home run. Links * Effectively Wild Episode 995: Manny Machado's Midriff * Marcus Stroman's tweet Category:Episodes Category:Email Episodes